NEWSFLASH

Manila, September 6, 2002
(STAR) Eleven Filipino women have been rescued from a prostitution den
in South Korea, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel said yesterday.

He said one of them was a 16-year-old
who was recruited as a waitress, but ended up as a commercial sex worker
catering to American soldiers in South Korea.

"The trafficking of Filipino
women in South Korea begins with the local entertainment agencies in the
Philippines securing entertainment visas for these women," he said.
"Once they have entered (South) Korea, however, the women are locked
up in clubs and prostitution dens."

Pimentel said criminal charges have
been filed in court against the South Korean recruiters and employers who
have forced the women into prostitution.

However, Pimentel said the cases
against them might not prosper because the victims have refused to testify.

"The offenders who are now under
trial in South Korean courts could go scot-free despite the efforts of
the Philippine Embassy and the South Korean authorities to crack down on
prostitution and other illegal activities involving Filipino women,"
he said.

During his recent visit to Seoul,
Pimentel said Ambassador Juanito Jarasa told him they could only interfere
in "specific cases of abuses" against Filipinos after complaints
are filed with the embassy. – Sammy Santos